Gratitude
by tom-kurosaki94
Summary: Ichigo kills Aizen without the final getsugatensho retaining the immense power he gained in the precipice world, he expects a heroes welcome, but instead he is arrested and and told he and all his friends will be executed. How's that for gratitude? Ichiruki, YoruSoi, other pairings In the future
1. Chapter 1: Victory?

**A/N Hey this is my first fanfic, constructive critisism only please also if you spot any errors let me know i actually wrote this on my ipod so yeah, autocorrect, i actually typed in sado, and guess what it tried to change it to, sadomasichism, yeah. anyway let me know what you think :)**

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He couldn't believe it. Aizen was dead. After all the pain and hatred and death, it was finally over, he had killed aizen, and he hadn't even needed the final getsugatensho. Suddenly the ground started moving, Or so it seemed. As he fell he heard someone shout his name. "Ichigo!" she screamed. The women he loved was running towards him, tears streaming, and worry on her face, just before he passed out he managed to whisper her name, "Rukia" then he succumbed to darkness.

His eyes opened slowly, he expected to see worried faces, not iron bars. A guard noticed his awakening and instead of relief, the guard looked at him in disgust before summoning a hell butterfly. Ten minutes later four guards in strange White robes arrived and the staffs they were holding shot out White ropes, which clipped onto a collar around his neck. The guards proceeded to lead him out of the building, all without a single word being uttered, for Ichigo was too dazed and confused to say anything. Ichigo stood in the central 46, as they read off a list of his "crimes".

Everything from saving Rukia from the sokyoku to his hollow powers, was held against him. They more spoke at him than to him, he wasn't even asked to explain himself, wasn't given a chance to deny it. One of the judges started speaking "Kurosaki Ichigo, for your numerous breaches of the laws of soul society, you are sentenced to death." At this Ichigo screamed out at them, he had saved them, and now they were going to kill him? The judge ignored him and continued

"Also, for various crimes including aiding a ryoka and giving a human shinigami powers; Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yoruichi, Shiba Kukaku, Yamada Hanatarou, Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji, will be executed. For the crime of obtaining hollow powers, the group known as the Vaizards will be executed. The ryoka Ishida Uryu, Inoue Orihime, Yasutora Sado and Shiba Ganju will be executed." Every name was a blade in his heart. He had fought for soul society, he had bled for soul society, hell he had nearly died for these bastards and this is how they repay him!

Ichigo started to speak "so this is my reward. I kill your greatest enemy, I save your lives, I thought you were my allies, but you were just using me the whole time! Waiting until I ceased to be useful so you could stab me in the back when a was at my weakest! YOU FUCKING COWARDS!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted one of the judges. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside and the doors flew open. "Ichigo!" someone shouted. He looked up and saw her. His eyes widened and his face broke out into a grin.

"Rukia!" he shouted, she smiled at him before shunpoing over and slamming a key into his collar, the moment it left his skin he called upon his immense reiatsu and forced each member of the central 46 to their knees, fighting for breath, clawing at their throats.

"Ichigo stop showing off and move! No doubt there are already captains on the way and we have to get out of here!" he just smiled at her,

"I'm so glad to see you again, not five minutes into saving my ass and your already telling me off" With that they shunpoed down the corridor and nearly ran into a wall of orange, Renji, Chad and Ishida were fighting a horde of shinigami, while Inoue stopped anyone from sneaking past them using her barrier. She let him through and the second he stepped into sight, two people appeared at the front of the uniform black of the shinigami, wearing White captain's Haori.

"Byakuya, Toshiro, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked. Both captains looked irritated at the use of their given name, and Byakuya answered.

"Well Kurosaki, Hitsugaya Taichou was sent to prevent your escape, and detain the Ryoka, I came to rescue my sister." Ichigo could not believe his ears, rescue. RESCUE! He was fuming, he was about to reply until Rukia stepped forward "Rukia" he whispered, begging her not to go, to stay by his side, all with just one word.

Meanwhile Byakuya had continued, "that's it Rukia, you don't belong with them, if you come with me now I will prevent any ramifications from reaching you." for a moment it looked like she was truly going to go with him, then she spat at him. Not the ground at his feet, no not Rukia, she got him right between the eyes. As Ichigo looked on in disbelief she shouted with tears in her eyes

"Up yours Byakuya! I read the report on Ukitaki Taichou's desk, the list of captains who gave approval for Ichigo to be tried by the central 46, seven to six in approval, if you had voted against, he would have been free, but you gave approval, knowing they would kill him!"

Byakuya looked shocked, he wiped the spit from his face and shouted back "you did what! That was a classified document for the eyes of captains only, how dare you read such a document!" meanwhile Ichigo seethed in anger, not so much because Byakuya had voted against him, when his vote would have spared his life, and the lives of everyone he loved, but because Byakuya had hurt Rukia, and no-one hurts Rukia. Byakuya spoke up again, his voice softer than Ichigo had ever heard it.

"Rukia, I did this for you, so you could finally forget this ryoka brat and be a regular shinigami again, I just wanted to h..." he never finished that sentence, because he had just noticed that Zangetsu had started to form in Ichigo's hand "Fuck!" Byakuya cursed and drew senbonsakura, halfway though, he froze. Everyone did. Ichigo glanced around wondering what had happened when he heard a voice in his head.

_"Ichigo"._ The voice said, Ichigo thought it was Zangetsu or his hollow until he realised something, the voice, belonged to a female.

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**A/N Hows that for a cliffie? who do you think the voice is? please let me know what you think. btw i will do some flashbacks, etc but first i want to get ichigo and everyone to safety, also isshin, yuzu and karin werent mentioned because as far as i know they haven't commited any crimes, but ichigo will take them with him because he doesn't trust ss now, and hes afraid they will use them against him.**


	2. Chapter 2: Revelations

Ichigo opened his eyes to find himself in his inner world, his hollow and Zangetsu standing beside a woman Ichigo didn't recognise. Ichigo was confused "Who are you? How did you get into my inner world?" The woman simply smiled, she was 5' 10'', blonde, wearing a green leotard with a matching cape and pair of 3'' stiletto's.

"To answer your first question, my name is Kyoka Suigetsu, but you can call me Kyoka." she said, with a wink. Ichigo could feel his jaw drop.

"Aizens Zanpakuto! How in the hell are you in my inner world?" Kyoka's smile widened, "Ichigo. I shall answer your question, but first you must answer mine, did you know that if a powerful shinigami is killed by another shinigami of blood relation, the Zanpakuto of the defeated shinigami can transfer itself to the victor, and become a part of his soul?"

Ichigo found this interesting, but didn't see how it mattered to him "what on earth does that have to do with how you ended up here?" Kyoka proceeded to sigh in annoyance "isn't it obvious _Baka,_ I am a part of your soul because you are related to Aizen."

Ichigo had a dark look in his eye, "I am not related to Aizen, its impossible." "oh really, then would you like to know Aizens real name?" this interested him, "real name?"

Kyoka had a smirk as she said "Aizen changed his name a long time ago, his true name, is Shiba Sosuke." again Ichigo was confused.

"Shiba? But I'm not related to the Shiba clan either." this time it was Kyoka's turn to be confused "seriously? Your father never told you he was a Shiba?" Ichigo felt as though he had just taken a punch to the gut. "Dad, is a Shiba?" Kyoka sighed again and said "I guess I'd better explain everything, now listen up because i will only say this once, ready?" Ichigo nodded, and Kyoka started to speak.

"Okay Ichigo, your father was the former head of the Shiba clan, and had three children, Kukaku, kaien and Ganju. as well as one brother, Sosuke. However, he was forced to flee soul society and hide in the human world, where he fell in love with a human by the name of Masaki Kurosaki, your mother. Surely you know the rest of the story."

Ichigo was shocked to his core, his mind was in disarray, and his inner world started to rain. It was too much information to take in at once. He turned to Zangetsu, "Is she right?"

He nodded "I cannot be sure, but as far as I know, she is telling the truth." Ichigo suddenly thought of something, "wait, if you are a part of my soul, does that mean I can use you as well as Zangetsu?" Kyoka nodded. Ichigo continued "well it will be a bit difficult to use both of you, considering Zangetsu's size"

Zangetsu then spoke up, "Ichigo, thanks to your training in the Dangai, you should now be able to seal me, and limit me to the size of a regular sword." At this point, Kyoka started to speak, "and to use my shikai, as long as the target has seen my release, you can keep me sheathed and just use Zangetsu to attack, and me to manipulate your enemies."

Ichigo thought about it, and agreed that while he may have to train to use two Zanpakuto, it would probably make him more powerful in the long run, when something occurred to him"okay, i guess that does sound like it should work, but what about bankai, will I have to train for that again?"

Kyoka laughed "don't worry Ichigo, you can have my bankai, I wouldn't stand a chance against anyone who could beat my former master." Ichigo smiled, "that's brilliant, so what does your bankai do? Will I have to physically wield you as well as Tensa Zangetsu? Will I have to shout both your bankai names?" Kyoka and Zangetsu smiled at his enthusiasm and Zangetsu answered "calm down Ichigo, first let me tell you that you are not the only shinigami with two Zanpakuto spirits." Ichigo was surprised by this little fact. "I'm not?"

"No, Kyoraku Taichou and Ukitake Taichou both have dual Zanpakuto, but do you know what stops these two spirits from merging into a single Zanpakuto?" Ichigo didn't really see where this was going but he just stayed silent and shook his head,

"Reiatsu. The only thing that stops two Zanpakuto that live within the same soul from merging, is Reiatsu. Do you see what this means?"

Ichigo didn't so he just rubbed his neck and answered "not really." Zangetsu rolled his eyes, "Ichigo, thanks to your training, when you enter bankai every single bit of Reiatsu you possess is temporarily converted into physical attributes such as strength, or speed. Because of this, when you enter bankai myself, Kyoka and your hollow will all merge to create a single Zanpakuto! Of course, when you exit bankai your spiritual pressure will return and we will have to separate once again." Ichigo was amazed, "that's awesome, so what extra powers will you give me in bankai Kyoka?"

Kyoka looked thoughtful, before answering, "well, my bankai before was that if my blade has touched an enemies skin, even if said touch happened before my bankai was activated, I could divine their deepest fears and nightmares and show them every single one at the same time, then my master would kill them, while they screamed in agony, I imagine I will have the same effect when you are wielding me as well."

Ichigo was both impressed and horrified, "while that does sound extremely powerful, I think I'll only use it on people I hate." Kyoka shrugged, "as you wish, now then, we have talked long enough, we should probably escape soul society"

"Agreed, but first we have to save Kukaku and Ganju, they are family after all, and they were on the execution list." And with that, his two Zanpakuto and his hollow nodded, and he closed his eyes.

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**A/N so what do you think? as if ichigo wasn't badass enough before he now has kyoka suigetsu's power too, and next chapter he will become even more powerful, because he's ichigo. what do you think of kyoka's bankai, i thought it fitted quite well with her shikai but let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3: New family, New power

**A/N heres chapter 3, hope you enjoy it :)**

**updated 19/8/13, updated the number of the hado ichigo uses, as 96 is already a known spell, thanks to hornet07 for pointing that out for me or i wouldn't have noticed.**

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Ichigo opened his eyes, and the world came back to life, Zangetsu had materialised in his hand, but in a sealed form, so he looked no bigger than any other Zanpakuto. Ichigo then concentrated on making Kyoka Suigetsu materialise in his left hand, as he did, he shouted their names, "Zangetsu! Kyoka Suigetsu!" everyone stared in shock as both Zanpakuto appeared in his hand, and Ichigo spoke to Kyoka in his mind.

_"Kyoka, if they saw your release while Aizen was your master, do I have to release you again?"_ she quickly answered, **"no Ichigo, the master does not matter, as long as they have seen my release, you can use my shikai on them"** excellent, he thought and he proceeded to make Byakuya and Toshiro think that he shunpoed behind them, and the moment they turned to counter, he slashed Toshiro with Kyoka, and Byakuya with Zangetsu.

Both captains fell to their knees in shock, and Ichigo yelled for his friends to run, while he released Kyoka Suigetsu for all the shinigami in front of them, and made them think that they had remained exactly where they were.

They proceeded to the west gate, where Jidanbo stood guard. "hey Ichigo, thought you were arrested?" Ichigo calmly tells the lie he thought up on the way there, "yeah we were pardoned thanks to Ukitake Taichou, could you open the gate for us?"

Jidanbo seemed torn, before saying "sorry Ichigo, no can do, I'll need permission from a captain first" Ichigo panicked for a second, before remembering Kyoka, "no problem Jidanbo, he's on his way. Hey I got a second Zanpakuto, wanna see what it does?" he drew Kyoka and made sure Jidanbo was looking, before he released and made Jidanbo think Kyoka had transformed into a saw-like blade, before "sealing" it and making it look like Ukitake walked around the corner.

After convincing Jidanbo, and escaping seireitei, they immediately headed to the Shiba household. He walked straight in and they proceeded straight downstairs, to find Kukaku having tea in the main room. She looked up and said "ever heard of knocking?" Ichigo planted Kyoka into the floor and said, "surely family doesn't need to knock." gasps were heard from everyone in the room, before Kukaku looked at Kyoka Suigetsu, and back to Ichigo, and said, "so she told you everything huh?" Ichigo nodded, "well, welcome to the family I guess. Are you angry at me for not telling you?" she said with panic and sadness in her eyes, to which Ichigo replied "of course not, sis. I didn't even know you knew, I suppose Yoruichi must have told you, does Ganju know?"

As if on cue, he walked into the room and said "does Ganju know what?" Kukaku turned to him and said "Ichigo knows." Ganju looked surprised and Ishida said, "look, while the family reunion is very touching and... Disturbing, half of seireitei is probably looking for us and we need to leave.

Ichigo looked at him with an annoyed look on his face before conceding, "what, why is seireitei after you?" Kukaku asked. Ichigo turned and said "I don't have time to explain, but we need to get out of soul society, and I need the both of you to come too. I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you to trust me, if you stay in soul society, you will die."

Kukaku simply stared at him in disbelief, before saying, "fine but you are going to explain the second we are safe, understand?" After Ichigo agreed and Kukaku and Ganju said hasty goodbyes, Rukia opened a senkaimon, and they ran through the dangai. About a third of the way through however, the cleaner appeared. "shit, isn't there a way to stop this thing?" Ichigo shouted.

Kukaku shouted back "yes, but it requires an immense amount of spirit energy, and it cannot come into contact with any part of your soul. Really the only way to destroy it is kido, but your the only one with nearly enough Reiatsu, and you dont know a single kido, never mind a 90 or higher hado, which you would, of course, need.

"In response, Kyoka suddenly said, **"Ichigo, Aizen knew every hado spell" **_"great"_ he thought, _"rub it in"_ **"no Baka, I meant if you want I can teach you them, I was a part of his soul, so naturally I know everything he did." **Ichigo was surprised, and while it was an appealing prospect, they simply did not have the time. _"it would be handy, but It hardly helps right know, it would take forever for him to learn all those spells."_ Ichigo heard an irritated sigh in his head, **"Ichigo, I am a part of your soul now, all you have to do is agree, and I can grant you the knowledge of every kido I know, instantly."** _"really? That's incredible! I agree!"_ and instantly he knew how to perform every hado and bakudo, and how to accordingly manipulate his Reiatsu.

He span to face the cleaner and shouted "hado #94, Kakaru Hinotama!" as soon as he finished, a giant fireball shot from his hands and slammed into the cleaner, causing it to explode. Everyone looked on in shock and awe, and Rukia said weakly, "Ichigo, when the hell did you learn how to do hado #94 without an incantation?"

Ichigo smirked and said "about thirty seconds ago. Kyoka knew every kido spell thanks to Aizen, so she gave me her knowledge of them." Ichigo enjoyed the stunned looks for a moment, noting happily the gobsmacked expressions on everyone's faces, before continuing "Anyway, let's go, we need to get to the living world as soon as possible." and with that, they ran through the rest of the precipice world, and made it into the world of the living.

Ichigo emerged from the senkaimon and reviewed the mental list of people they had to visit, he had planned to visit everyone himself, but with soul society hot on his tail he didn't have the time. Instead, he came up with a plan, "okay everyone, we're going to split up in order to save time. I'll visit the Vaizards, seeing as they will probably bolt if they sense anyone else, Rukia and Chad, you guys get my family, kukaku and everyone else go to Urahara,and tell him to get a garganta ready. We will all meet in Urahara's basement once we have everyone. Ready?" everyone nodded and Ichigo ticked off his mental list, he was sure he was missing someone, then it hit him "Shit! We forgot Hanatarou!"

Everyone seemed to feel bad about forgetting him, before Kukaku said, "Ichigo, we will go back for him, but not now, we have to get your family to safety first." Ichigo felt terrible, but he reluctantly agreed. "I just hope he understands when we go back and he hears what happens. Okay if everyone knows where they are going, I'll see you at Urahara's."

Inoue suddenly spoke up, "umm Kurosaki-Kun, maybe I should come with you to he Vaizards, I mean they have met me before and it might be safer that wa-" Ichigo cut her off before she could finish, "nah your alright Inoue, I can go much faster if your not with me, and once I get to the hideout I'll be perfectly safe." Inoue reluctantly agreed, and everyone set off to their respective destinations.


	4. Chapter 4: Explanations

**A/N hey sorry it's been a while but I'm having problems with my internet, hopefully i will have the next chapters of gratitude and confidence by next Monday. Enjoy :)**

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Ichigo parted company with the others and set off towards the Vaizard's hideout. The senkaimon had come out quite close to the warehouse, so it wasn't long before he was walking through the door. As he walked in the door closed quickly behind him. He was in pitch darkness until a spotlight was switched on; he was blinded when he heard Shinji's voice "Ichigo? Hey man sorry about that, we didn't know it was you."

Ichigo was quick to point out the obvious, "how did you not know it was me, I'm sure you guys would have no problem sensing my Reiatsu." Ichigo was surprised when Hachi spoke up, "well we need to keep our Reiatsu hidden, as we are well aware that soul society may be trying to hunt us down, despite our help in the war. The barrier I put up is similar to a the Negacion that menos use, it completely separates Reiatsu, making it impossible for our Reiatsu to be sensed from the outside, as a result however, we cannot sense any Reiatsu from outside either."

Ichigo was surprised that they had anticipated soul society's betrayal, then realised that was his whole purpose in coming here. "Well you guys were right, they betrayed me, they were going to execute me, and all my friends, including you guys. Rukia and Sado are getting my Dad and my sisters, everyone else went to Urahara's, I came here to get you guys. "Shinji just looked at him like he was stupid, "Baka, those are the first places soul society will look for you, and what if we do get everyone to Urahara's, where do we go from there? They won't stop pursuing you, or us. So-"

Ichigo just smiled as he said "simple, we go to Hueco Mundo." the Vaizards all froze and looked at Ichigo like he had suggested they hide from soul society in a plastic box. Ichigo started to explain, "Look, we can fix up Las Noches and live there, think about it, it's large, defendable, and soul society won't send a large squad there for fear of attracting loads of hollows."

Hiyori was quick to scold him, her precious sandal coming out of nowhere, "But we will have the exact same problem, stupid baldy, what's to stop the hollows from coming after us?"

Ichigo smiled "easy, they already fear Las Noches, and once they hear that the one living there is the guy who killed Aizen, they won't dare come near." They all looked thoughtful, before Shinji agreed. "fine, we'll come with you, soul society would have found us eventually anyway, I suppose this is our best hope for survival, everyone pack up your stuff, we're going to Urahara's in three minutes so hurry up." with large amounts of groaning and muttering, everyone gathered up their stuff and three minutes later, Hachi deactivated his barrier.

As soon as he did, they all felt five large, familiar Reiatsu signatures, all in the vicinity of Ichigo's house, "Shit!" Ichigo shouted, soul society had made its move.

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As they neared Urahara's, Kukaku spoke up "So is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on? Why are we running from soul society?" Ishida scoffed and said "we are going to need to explain it to Urahara, no need to explain it twice when once will suffice, but once we have told you, you are going to tell us exactly what Kurosaki meant when he called you family."

Kukaku sighed, "Fine, we're nearly there anyway and I suppose it's a fair deal." They arrived at Urahara's, and Yoruichi came running out, "Kukaku! So nice to see you again, but what brings you here, and why are Ichigo's friends with you?"

Urahara walked out with a serious look on his face, which immediately silenced everyone. Everyone was surprised when he said, "So, soul society decided to betray us after all, a shame really."

Ishida was the first to ask the question on everyone's lips. "You knew? How on earth-?" Urahara smiled and said "simple, I felt you all appear, and I felt Ichigo's Reiatsu head towards the Vaizard's hideaway, and Rukia-San and Sado-San's Reiatsu headed towards the Kurosaki household, that plus the fact that the rest of you are here tells me that soul society decided that we are no longer useful, and are now merely a threat, such a shame. I suppose we should better go in." they all went into the shop, and Renji explained exactly what happened in soul society to Urahara, Yoruichi and the Shibas.

Just as Kukaku was about to explain her relation to Ichigo, they all felt the same Reiatsu that Ichigo had felt. Everyone looked at each other before Urahara said "well, looks like soul society wasted no time making their counter-attack. Well, let's go." Kukaku looked at him uncertain "are you sure? while I would love to have a good fight with soul society at the moment, Isshin and those other two can hold them till Ichigo gets there, and as much as I hate to admit it, we would probably just get in his way."

Yoruichi finally spoke up and said "well we had better go just to be safe, soul society may have reinforcements waiting, and Ichigo would never forgive us if we didn't go and something happened to his family, or Rukia for that matter." she said the last bit with a smirk, and with that they set off.

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Rukia and Chad arrived at the Kurosaki household, and each took a deep breath, unsure on how to break the news. Just as Rukia was about to knock, the door swung open and Rukia was caught in an impossibly tight bear hug, "Rukia-Chan! My precious third daughter! You've returned!"

Chad pulled Isshin off Rukia and said in a calm voice, "Kurosaki-Sama, we have something important to tell you and your daughters." Isshin looked at him seriously and said, "I take it this is the reason that my son left soul society with all his friends and the Shiba family. You had better come in."

They entered the house together, and Karin and Yuzu both looked up from the couch, noticing Rukia, Karin said "Yo Rukia, what are you doing here?" Yuzu looked at Karin as though she had gone insane, "what do you mean Karin-Chan, the only ones there are Dad and Onee-Chan's friend." Karin noticed then that Rukia was in Shinigami form, and was surprised, she quickly said, "you're a Shinigami too Rukia-Chan?" Rukia quickly replied "look Karin, I will explain everything too you but we don't have time, Sado-kun will explain everything to you as Yuzu can't see or hear me."

After a brief explanation of Shinigami and soul society for Yuzu, Chad explained what was happening and why they needed to go to Urahara's as soon as possible. While Karin seemed to reluctantly accept, Yuzu looked close to tears, "but why, their Ichi-Nii's friends right? Why would they do this?" Isshin sighed and hugged Yuzu, "it's complicated Yuzu, and I will personally explain it to you, but right now we need to go, so both of you have three minutes to pack your essentials, and only essentials mind you, and then we are leaving, okay?" both the girls agreed, and ran upstairs.

Three minutes later, they all left the house, ready to set off to Urahara's, when a burst of Shunpo caught the eyes of all but Yuzu, they turned around, to find themselves face to face with the captains of squads two, seven, six, eight and twelve. Soi Fon stepped forward and said in a calm, clear voice, "it's over, surrender now or we will bring you in by force, **all** of you."

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**A/N :) let me know what you think, hope you enjoyed it!**


	5. Chapter 5: Conflict

**A/N hey :) sorry for the long update had problems with intenet access but bear with me ok? to littlebunny48, yes there will be other pairings but im not sure who yet :D and i'll keep the list of good guys and bad guys a secret for now. don't really have a set plan more an idea of what i want to happen, other than that jus makin it up as i go along. thanks to all my reviewers and enjoy :)**

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Rukia and Chad stood frozen with horror, five captains, against them and Isshin. They didn't stand a chance, but Isshin just turned around and spoke to his daughters, "now girls listen to me, I'm going to turn into a shinigami now, and I need you to go with my body and hide inside the house. And no matter what you here, don't come out. Ok?" both girls nodded, with tears in their eyes. Isshin took out a soul candy and swallowed it, popping out of his body. He body sprung up, and ushered the girls into the house. Isshin turned around and drew his Zanpakuto, as Rukia drew hers, swallowing at the same time.

Chad started talking, "Kurosaki-sama, how many can you beat?" Isshin looked solemn as he said, "two, maybe three." these simple words seemed to echo infinitely, they all knew it, they couldn't win, it was impossible, but they had to fight. Rukia spoke up "its ok, we don't have to win. We just have to survive long enough for help, either Ichigo will come with the Vaizards, or the others will come from Urahara's." they all smirked at that, and Isshin said, "Your right, we're not alone, we can get through this, together." and with that, they charged.

Chad immediately launched a huge blast at the centre of the five captains, but they all shunpoed out of the way, Soi Fon appearing behind Rukia, who blocked her strike. Byakuya appeared behind Isshin, who blocked and launched a getsugatensho at him, Byakuya shunpoed to Isshin's side, just as Komamura appeared on his other side, both captains swinging at him, Isshin dodged, leaving both captains open as they adjusted their blades to avoid hitting each other. Just as Isshin was about to cut into Komamura's arm, Kurotsuchi appeared and blocked his blade, Byakuya swung his sword at Isshin's midsection, but Chad blocked with the shield portion of his left arm, as they continued to fight, Kyoraku stood by, torn. It was his duty to fight them, and bring them in, but it was wrong, he could feel it, deep in the core of his very being.

He saw Soi Fon about to strike a wounding blow on Rukia, but Ichigo appeared and blocked her blade, his anger so strong it could be felt within his enormous Reiatsu, pushing down on all of them. Before any of the captains could react, the rest of the 'outlaws' appeared. The five captains looked around at the foes they now had to face, and realised a single fact, if they fought now, they would be killed in a matter of minutes, if they were lucky. Kyoraku opened a senkaimon, and as four of the captains ran through, they looked back to see Soi Fon with a sealed Zangetsu through her shoulder, which was quickly pulled out. Everyone looked at Ichigo as he started to speak. "that isn't a lethal wound, just a warning that if you ever try to hurt Rukia again, I'll kill you." they all looked at Ichigo in shock, none more so than Rukia herself.

Soi Fon clutched at her shoulder, as she ran through the senkaimon, which closed behind her, and with that, the five captains fled for their lives. Everyone stared at Ichigo, wondering what had come over him, when he spoke up "has everyone been filled in on what's happening?" he looked around at them and everyone nodded or answered with a simple "yeah" he nodded "good, then let's go back to Urahara's." Isshin got back into his body, and found Yuzu and Karin hiding in their room, and then they set off.

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They arrived at Urahara's and Ichigo led the way down to the basement. "Urahara, how soon can you open a garganta that will allow my sisters through?" everyone except he Vaizards looked at him in shock, "about a week I guess, why?" Ichigo looked back at him and smirked, "why else, we're going to Hueco Mundo." Urahara looked shocked, but his shocked expression gradually turned to interest, "actually, that's not a bad idea, I assume we will be heading for Las Noches, and it is indeed the safest place for us to hide from soul society, I'm impressed Kurosaki-San." Ichigo sweatdropped, "you didn't have to sound so surprised." everyone laughed at his expression, evidently upset that the thought of him having a good idea was so surprising.

He then turned serious, "alright then, Urahara, how many of us can stay upstairs in the shop?" Urahara looked thoughtful as he answered, I think all the women could fit up there, and us men will have to stay down here in the basement." there were a few groans from the men at having to stay in the basement on the rocky ground, but Ichigo quickly said "fine, do you have enough bedding for all of us?" Urahara didn't reply, instead he shouted "Ururu, Jinta, please can you check all the bedding we have, and see if we will have enough for all our guests!" at which a small cry of "Hai" and a louder one of "sure" came from up the ladder. It was a surprisingly short time before Jinta shouted down "We're three short boss!" Ichigo nodded and said "right, I'll go out and get those then, Chad, can you come with to help me carry them?" Chad nodded, and they both walked out, and Rukia walked out with them, automatically going with Ichigo as she always had.

After Ichigo had stopped at the bank to withdraw his savings, saying that there was no point keeping them in the living world, they had picked up the three sets of bedding, and were on their way back to Urahara's shop when Rukia spoke up, "Chad, can you go on ahead please? I want to talk to Ichigo." Chad just nodded and took the three sets of bedding, leaving Ichigo and Rukia alone. "Ichigo, what came over you before, I've never seen you like that, you were so angry you were practically crushing us with your Reiatsu." Ichigo just looked away and replied "I don't know, I just saw her blade about to hit you, and something snapped, the thought of you getting hurt is unbearable, all I could think of was that moment I saw Grimmjow plunge his hand through your stomach, I don't ever want to see you hurt, and I just felt like I needed to warn her so that she never tries to hurt you again."

Rukia was touched, but at the same time she was incredibly amused, she burst out laughing and Ichigo looked hurt and said "what the hell are you laughing for?" Rukia had tears in her eyes as she answered "I'm sorry Ichigo, but you just said something romantic!" Her laughter intensified at the sight of Ichigo's face turning a bright red, "No I Didn't! I just want to protect people so it upsets me when they are hurt!" Ichigo stopped shouting when he saw her laughter fade quickly, and a hurt expression on her face for a split second before the Kuchiki mask appeared and she stated in a calm voice, "Fine, I'm sorry I made fun of you Ichigo, and I'm sorry I saw something that wasn't there" despite the mask, Ichigo saw tears in the corners of her eyes a she spun around and walked towards Urahara's at a brisk pace, he ran after her and shouted for her to wait, all the while thinking, _how in the hell am I going to fix this?_

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**A/N let me know what you think :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Reunited

Ichigo caught up with Rukia and grabbed hold of her arm, strangely, she didn't fight him, she just stood frozen, refusing to turn around. "Rukia, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I was just embarrassed and... Well that's no excuse really; I didn't mean to hurt you, I just..." Rukia's voice was cold, emotionless, "you didn't hurt me Ichigo, what you said was perfectly justified, there's no need to apologise, you were right." Ichigo shook his head, "Rukia, I do need to apologise, because I lied, I do want to protect you more than I want to protect everyone else, because... You mean more to me than anyone else."

At this point Rukia turned around, hardly daring to believe that he might mean what she thought he did, she looked into his eyes, and hesitantly whispered, "why?" Ichigo swallowed, loudly, before saying "because, well, because I... I love you." He stood there, amazed that he had said it, and scared, scared that she didn't feel the same, but then he glanced down, into her deep blue eyes, and all his fears were instantly dispelled, the joy in her eyes was incredible, heart-warming, and though he didn't need to hear the words, he enjoyed them anyway.

"I love you too." she embraced him tightly, and he embraced her, savouring the feel of her in his arms. He had never been so happy or content. It was perfect. They eventually separated, and Ichigo said, "we'd better head to the shop, they're probably wondering where we are." Rukia smiled and replied, "yeah, and the less time we take, the less time Urahara's imagination can run wild." they both grinned at this, and headed to the shop, hand in hand.

They arrived at the shop and hesitated before Ichigo spoke up, "do you want to tell them, or should we leave it for a bit?" Rukia shrugged and said "I'm not ashamed or embarrassed, are you?" Ichigo answered immediately "of course not! I was just dreading the reactions of certain "adults", especially my idiot Dad." Rukia sighed, "I suppose the sooner we do it, the sooner they will get over it" Ichigo scowled and mumbled his doubts, and then they entered the shop, with their hands still joined.

As they entered the basement where everyone was gathered, they saw various expressions as people noticed them, shock, joy, and sadness, which puzzled them both, why were Renji and Orihime upset? But they had no time to think on it as Isshin jumped up and flew at them, arms outstretched. "Woohoo! My precious th-" he was cut off by Ichigo's foot, at everyone's questioning looks, Ichigo gave a quick nod, and rapidly tried to start a conversation before they could ask any questions. "so Urahara, is there any way to get that garganta open quicker? We don't want to stay here any longer than necessary."

Urahara was silent for a moment before he replied "I'm afraid not, unless... Ichigo, when you killed Aizen, did you pick up the hogyoku?" Ichigo just shook his head, and Urahara was about to continue when Rukia spoke up, "Ichigo didn't, but I did" she reached into her robes, and pulled out the small orb. Everyone looked at her in surprise as she explained "well, after Ichigo passed out, I noticed the hogyoku on the floor, and I could feel some shinigami heading towards us, and for some strange reason I just had a feeling that soul society shouldn't have the hogyoku, so I picked it up and hid it in my robes."

Urahara grinned, "this is excellent news, with this I can get the garganta open in three days not seven" Ichigo smiled at Rukia before looking at everyone else and saying "alright then, we need to get all the bedding set up, and also a watch schedule so soul society can't take us by surprise." everyone got to work, following Ichigo's instructions and not once wondering why he was giving the orders.

Three days passed by with nothing much happening, and soon they were all stood in the basement waiting for Urahara to open the garganta. They all headed through with packs of varying weight, as in addition to food, water and bedding, they had all agreed to help carry Urahara's equipment, as it would undoubtedly come in useful. They entered the garganta, and Ichigo had Ishida, Yoruichi and Urahara make three paths, as they had the best Reiatsu control. They travelled at a steady pace, and soon reached the desert of Hueco Mundo.

They could see las Noches, and luckily it wasn't too far away, they would reach it by sundown, and with Ichigo in the lead, and Rukia by his side, they set off towards their new home. They were halfway to las Noches, when a small green bundle threw itself at Ichigo shouting "ITSYGO!" Ichigo sat up in alarm and the bundle's hood fell back, revealing Nel. Slightly out of breath, Pesche and Dondochakka soon appeared too, as Nel started to speak "Itsygo! You came back! Nel missed you!" Ichigo had a slight grin as he said "I missed you too Nel, now can you let me up?" Nel gave him a tight hug, before getting off, and Pesche spoke up "I didn't think I'd see you again Ichigo, why are you here? Is Aizen back?"

Ichigo shook his head before replying, "Nah Aizens dead, but after I killed him, soul society betrayed me, so we've come to live in Hueco Mundo." A huge grin broke out on Nel's face, "YAAAYY! Itsygo is staying here forever! Nel is so happy!" Ichigo thought of something, "Hey Nel, how would you three like to stay in las Noches with us?" Nel literally started bouncing with joy, "Yay! Nel would love to come stay with Itsygo" Ichigo started walking towards las Noches, and Dondochakka opened his mouth wide, Nel said "why are you walking Itsygo? We can get there on Bawabawa." As she said this, Bawabawa appeared from Dondochakka's mouth, and they all jumped onto the hollow's back.

They arrived at Hueco Mundo shortly, and Bawabawa returned to Dondochakka's mouth. Half an hour later, they were all settled in, and Ichigo walked into Urahara's lab to see said scientist conversing with Nel. "Ah Kurosaki-San, Nel here was just explaining her predicament to me, and I believe I can help her." Ichigo was slightly suspicious as he asked "what do you mean?" Urahara waved his fan as he answered Ichigo with a huge grin "I believe I can create a device that will allow here to switch between her adult and child forms at will, and maintain her adult form as long as she wishes!"

Ichigo was stunned "really? You can do that?" Urahara grinned wider "of course, Miss Nel has already agreed, in fact, it's nearly finished." He went back to working, and fifteen minutes later, he held up a green bracelet shouting "Eureka!" all the while, Nel was jumping up and down trying to reach said bracelet.

Ichigo noticed this, and shouted; "before you celebrate, maybe she should put the damn thing on!" at this point Urahara noticed Nel's efforts, and handed the bracelet to her. She quickly slid it on her left arm, and appeared to concentrate for a minute, before a cloud of pink smoke appeared, and there stood Nel in her adult form, looking overjoyed at her new ability.

Noticing that Urahara seemed far too interested in Nel's new form, and lack of coverage on said form, Ichigo quickly pulled her out of the room, and into the nearest room with some clothes in.

After Ichigo had found some clothes that fit Nel, Ichigo left and went back to the lab, seeing Urahara, something popped into his head, "Hey Urahara, I've always wondered, are you and Yoruichi-San, you know, together?" Urahara chuckled and shook his head, saying "no, no, we're just really good friends, she's like a sister to me." Ichigo just shrugged and said "okay, I was just wondering." And he left Urahara still chuckling.

Ichigo was about to head to his room, when Renji came running up to him, "Ichigo! Soul society, they're here!" Ichigo was shocked, and he ran with Renji to the north entrance, where three hundred shinigami were approaching las Noches, and at their head were Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki.


	7. Chapter 7: Quality over Quantity

**A/N hey sorry ive not updated in a while, been a bit busy recently. confidence is on hiatus for now got major writers block with it, im gonna concentrate on this for now, maybe start a new one ive had an idea for. ive introduced my first oc in this chapter, and i just want to say, his name is the japanese version of mine, but he is not me, i just couldnt think of a name ok? let me know what you think! :)**

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Byakuya stormed through the corridors of the squad one barracks. How had this happened? Rukia had run off, and that damn Kurosaki had slashed his back open. Why couldn't she see he just wanted her to be safe?

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_Flashback_

_Byakuya stood in front of the captain commander after delivering his report, "so, during your battle with the ryoka, a creature came out, and because of this, you believe Kurosaki Ichigo has an inner hollow." Byakuya nodded and said "yes captain commander, we must have him executed immediately!" the old man sighed, "normally I would agree, but with Aizen's betrayal we need strong allies, and Kurosaki took down you, Zaraki Kenpachi and four lieutenants after just a few months of being a shinigami, we need him." _

_Byakuya nearly shouted at the captain commander, but took a moment to compose himself. "Fine, but on two conditions, one, the moment Aizen is dead, Kurosaki is arrested and executed and two, Rukia is to go nowhere near him." the soutaichou narrowed his eyes, "that's not possible, you saw the lengths that boy went through to rescue her once, we need to stay on his good side if we are to defeat Aizen" this time Byakuya did shout, "But Sir! That thing overpowered me! Rukia would have no chance! She-" "Enough!" the soutaichou shouted back, "I will do my best to make sure she is not alone with him, beyond that there is nothing I can do. As to your first condition, once Aizen is defeated, Kurosaki Ichigo will be arrested, and a vote shall be held. If the majority of votes favour it, he shall be sent before central 46 and they shall pass judgement." Byakuya wanted to argue, but knew that this was the best offer he would get. "Fine." he said, before turning and storming out of the office._

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Byakuya had simply done what was best for Rukia, how could she not see that? To be honest, he didn't particularly dislike the Kurosaki boy, It was just he was a danger to Rukia. He remembered her anger in front of the central 46, he had done the right thing. Hadn't he? He entered the captains meeting and took his place. The soutaichou banged his cane and spoke up " I am sure you have all read the reports on the breakout from central 46, and the encounter in the human world." they all nodded " Kurotsuchi Taichou has informed me he had some new findings to report." the deranged scientist stepped forward, "indeed I have, yesterday, a garganta opened up in the human world, beneath Kisuke Urahara's shop, and the Reiatsu of all the occupants, including the escapees vanished, apparently into said garganta."

There were murmurs at this, and the captain commander slammed his cane again, demanding silence. He spoke up "from Kurotsuchi Taichou's report, we can assume that Kurosaki Ichigo and the others are currently living in Las Noches, as it is the only structure in Hueco Mundo. Zaraki Taichou, Kuchiki Taichou, I want both of you to pick 50 of your best men, and prepare for an assault on Las Noches, each other captain will pick 20 of their best men to join the assault. Those squads without captains will have the next highest officer available pick the men needed, Komamura Taichou, it is your responsibility to have messengers inform said officers of this task. Kuchiki Taichou will lead the assault. Does everyone understand?" there was a round of "Hai soutaichou" and they were dismissed.

* * *

Ichigo looked at the force soul society had assembled, and felt slightly flattered, before turning to Renji, "run and tell everyone else about this, and to meet me here." Renji looked a bit disgruntled about being told what to do, before running back into Las Noches. Three minutes later, everyone was assembled, and the shinigami force was getting closer, Ichigo felt a bit worried, "there sure is a lot of them, this is gonna be tough." Shinji smirked, "don't worry about it Ichigo, quality over quantity right?" Ichigo smirked too "sure, quality over quantity."

He took a moment to think, "Okay, I'll fight Kenpachi, Shinji and Nel, you guys fight Byakuya. Everyone else just, well, you know, fight." he finished lamely. He turned around and shunpoed towards his target, when Zaraki noticed Ichigo was heading towards him, a huge smile broke out on his face. They drew their blades and faced each other, and Kenpachi spoke up, "Hey Ichigo, I want a good fight okay? None of that illusion crap!" Ichigo smirked and agreed, before pulling on his hollow mask. Kenpachi hadn't said anything about **_that_** after all.

* * *

Rukia looked around, after Ichigo had made contact with Zaraki, they had all split up into individual fights, they easily overpowered most of the shinigami, and Rukia was surprised at how much she had grown. She was brought out of her thinking by a Zanpakuto heading towards her face, she quickly dodged, and looked at the shinigami wielding it, he was tall, about six foot, with jet black, medium length hair and a cocky smirk so much like Ichigo's she couldn't help but smile, he swung at her again, and she blocked with difficulty, he was very fast, she jumped away and twirled her blade, "Dance, Sode No Shirayuki", at the same time, he held his blade horizontally in front of his body, "Infect, Kurushimeru".

As her snow White Zanpakuto appeared, his grew into a black shaft, around five and a half feet long, A scythe blade on each end, with the blades facing opposite directions. It looked like a fearsome weapon, but if she could get inside his reach, he'd be powerless. She shunpoed towards him, and he stepped back and span his blade in a circle around himself. She stepped away and saw his strategy, if he span the blade fast enough, it was impossible to get inside its reach where he was vulnerable, she was just preparing a strategy to get past this when he shunpoed behind her, she just managed to block by stopping the shaft with her blade, when she noticed his smirk, she looked up and saw the blade of his scythe was facing away from her, she frowned, and then she realised, his true aim was to get his other blade underneath her!

She looked down and sure enough, there was his black blade between her legs, moving quickly up towards her body. The blade was just about to hit her skin when a hand grabbed the shaft, stopping it. She looked up to see that Ichigo had once again saved her, her opponent wore a strange expression as he looked at Ichigo, a mixture of awe, hatred and, hurt? He shunpoed away from Ichigo and said a single word, before disappearing in a cloud of green Reiatsu.

"Bankai".

The cloud disappeared, and there he stood, on each hand was a piece of black armor, that ran up his arms and joined together at his neck, from each armor covered finger extended a foot long scythe blade, giving him eight blades in total. Rukia thought his shikai had looked more useful, but she remained wary as he spoke "Seishin Kurushimeru" he lifted his right hand at Ichigo, and pointed his index finger accusingly.

They both expected some sort of speech, but instead they heard a faint click, and the blade flew from his finger towards them, they dodged, and Ichigo saw that the blade was connected to the armor by a metal cord, which was swiftly rewinding. The blade flew back into place, and the shinigami quickly raised them to defend. Ichigo raised Kyoka Suigetsu and said "shatte-" before he could release however, his opponent had closed his eyes and jumped backwards, Ichigo cursed, Kyoka wasn't going to be of much use here, he sheathed her and held Zangetsu in front of him, before realising,_ I don't know his release!_ He then heard Zangetsu whisper to him, and shouted "Show no fear! Zangetsu!" the sealed blade swiftly transformed into the familiar cleaver like blade, and Ichigo charged in, at the same time, Ichigo heard eight faint clicks, and all eight of his opponents blades came flying at him, evading or blocking them all was very difficult.

His opponent was very good, he manipulated the eight blades like a master puppeteer, but Ichigo finally found an opening and shouted "Bakudo #9, Geki!" his opponent fell to the floor, normally such a low number spell would be easy to break out of, but Ichigo's insane Reiatsu resulted in the spell being abnormally strong. Ichigo noticed that the rest of the shinigami were retreating, with the two captains leading them back through a garganta, the three hundred strong force had been reduced to roughly 100, and those who had survived looked heavily wounded. Ichigo smiled and thought, _quality over quantity indeed._

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**A/N i dont really like writing fight scenes, im not very good at them, but tell me what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8: An Unlikely Ally

**A/N hey guys, no reviews for the last chapter :( i know i said i write because i enjoy it, but its really nice when people tell you they enjoyed your writing, or that they just took the time to help make it better, although someone did enter gratitude into a community for all time favourites which made me really happy. anyway, 10,000 words! :) woooh!**

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Ichigo looked down at the shinigami he had captured, he needed to question him. He noticed Urahara and asked, "Urahara-San, do you have anything in your lab that can seal reiatsu?" the scientist reached into his pocket and pulled out a Reiatsu sealing collar, then threw it to Ichigo, who clipped it around the shinigami's neck. Ichigo led the captured man into Las Noches, and into the first empty room he came across. There were two chairs, and they each sat in one of them. Ichigo looked at his captive, the man was staring at the floor, fists clenched, and Ichigo could practically feel his anger. "What do you know about Hanatarou Yamada?" Ichigo asked. The man stayed silent and Ichigo's small amount of patience quickly ran out, he was about to speak up when the man finally answered, "Why?" Ichigo was annoyed, "because he's my friend and-" the man interrupted him with a shout, "why did you betray soul society!"

The man finally looked up at him and there were tears in the corners of his eyes, "I idolised you, you're the reason I became a shinigami. And you-" Ichigo cut him off, shocked. "What the hell are you talking about? Soul society betrayed me!" the shinigami replied in shock, "what? What do you mean? You ran off to Hueco Mundo to team up with the hollows." "Who the hell told you that bullshit? Soul society used me to kill Aizen, then the moment I ceased to be useful, they tried to have me killed!" the man looked down again and was silent for a minute or so before saying, "I never should have doubted you. When the captain told me you were a traitor, I never should have believed it, I'm sorry."

Ichigo just said, "it's okay, we all make mistakes, what's your name?" he looked up and said, "Fosuta Tomasu, sixth squad third seat." Ichigo noticed the relatively low position, "third seat? You have bankai, and you're quite powerful, why aren't you a captain?" he shrugged "I am... Was a candidate for captaincy." "Was?"

Tomasu grinned, "You don't think I'm going back do you? I'm staying here… if you'll have me." Ichigo never was the suspicious type, "sure, good to have you. So, do you know Hanatarou?" Tomasu thought for a moment before he shook his head, "No I don't, sorry, what squad is he?" "Squad four, or he used to be, he is supposed to be executed for helping me rescue Rukia." Tomasu remembered something, "oh yeah, I heard some guy in squad four was supposed to be executed for helping you, I didn't really pay attention though, so I don't know much beyond that." Ichigo took off his Reiatsu collar and undid his binding spell, and said, "That's alright, I'll just ask Yoruichi-San to find out, I just hoped that I could find out sooner through you. Anyway, just make yourself at home." he then walked off in search of Yoruichi.

He found her soon enough, he had gotten much better at sensing Reiatsu, "Hey Yoruichi-San, can you sneak into soul society?" Yoruichi gave a little chuckle before saying, "easier than a walk in the park, why?" "I need you to find out when Hanatarou's execution is taking place." Yoruichi jumped up and gave a mock salute, "Hai Kurosaki-Taichou." she joked, and shunpoed away as Ichigo scowled.

Ichigo wandered a bit and found himself in the throne room, where he found Rukia looking around. "Find anything interesting in here?" he asked and she shook her head, "not really, I was looking for the place Aizen kept the hogyoku, figured it would be the safest place to put it." Ichigo scoffed, "yeah like Urahara would let you take it from him, I'm sure he's found a safe hiding place for it, and besides, I need you to do something for me." Rukia raised one eyebrow, "Oh really?" Ichigo blushed, "I need you to write a list of the captains who voted for and against sending me to central 46."

Ichigo was surprised to see Rukia look a bit disappointed, "Ok then, I'll get right to it." Ichigo smirked as she walked past him, "Rukia, have you got a room yet?" she looked back at him, "not really, I've picked one but I haven't really settled in yet, why?" Ichigo looked back at her, "take your stuff to my room and get settled in, I'll see you tonight." he gave a slight wink as he said this, giving the illusion of calm confidence, while inside he was a nervous wreck. He saw Rukia's eyes widen slightly, and she smiled back, "I look forward to it." she said, and walked away, beaming.

* * *

Orihime wandered through the hallways, getting to know her way around, and hoping familiarity would erase her bad memories of this place. As she explored, her mind drifted to her favourite shinigami. She had been worried when Kurosaki-Kun and Kuchiki-San had come back to Urahara's shop holding hands, but they hadn't actually said they were together, Ichigo had nodded at everyone, but that could have just been a greeting, and lots of friends hold hands, and she hadn't seen them actually do anything yet. She nodded to herself; she still has a chance… she hopes.

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Tomasu couldn't help but notice the suspicious stares, it was understandable, to be honest, he didn't understand why Kurosaki-Sama had accepted him so easily, one minute he was an officer in the gotei 13, the next he was staying with Kurosaki Ichigo in Las Noches. It was perfectly understandable that they were suspicious of his new loyalty, but it still made him uncomfortable. Truthfully, he was angry at himself for believing soul society's lies, and angry at them for ruining Ichigo's image. The man was his hero.

Tomasu was terrible at kido, so he had always dropped out of the shinigami academy, never lasting more than a year. But Ichigo had shown him that you don't need to be good at kido to be a good shinigami, when he had taken on four lieutenants and two captains without using a single kido, so he had rejoined, graduated after two years on his sword skills alone, and because he had an abnormally strong connection to his Zanpakuto, he had achieved bankai in just five years training, all thanks to Ichigo. And soul society had turned everyone, including him, against Ichigo with viscous lies, even calling him the second Aizen.

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He remained lost in his thoughts until he bumped into the man himself, "Oh, sorry Kurosaki-Sama, I was lost in my thoughts." Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "Sama? Just call me Ichigo." "Alright then, Ichigo, I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here." Ichigo smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, "it's no problem, how are you settling in?" "Fine, fine, everyone's still a bit suspicious of me, but that's to be expected." Ichigo nodded, he had anticipated that, "I thought they might, don't worry, they'll come around, they've all just gotten over a huge betrayal, their just a bit wary." Tomasu nodded and hesitated before saying, "I have to ask, why did you accept me so easily?" Ichigo shrugged, "not sure, I just went with my instincts." at that moment, an out of breath Yoruichi appeared.

Ichigo was worried, "Yoruichi-San, what's wrong? Is it Hanatarou?" she shook her head, "no, his execution is in thirty days, he's fine for now, it's Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki." now Ichigo was really worried, "what about them?" Yoruichi had regained her breath, "soul society is going after them to use them against you, and they're sending thirty of the stealth force to collect them." Ichigo nearly shouted, "What! When?" Yoruichi looked him dead in the eyes and just said, "Now." Ichigo went pale, "Yoruichi-San, fetch Nel and meet me in Urahara's lab, Tomasu, come with me." they both nodded and headed off to their destinations, Yoruichi noticed that Nel was the closest one who would be able to keep up with her and Ichigo, the kid's Reiatsu sensing abilities were getting much better. They were all quickly assembled in Urahara's lab, the man ready to open a garganta the moment Yoruichi and Nel arrived, Ichigo quickly thanked Urahara, before they proceeded through, and arrived in the world of the living.

Relieved to find the stealth force hadn't arrived yet, Ichigo analysed the area they had come out in, Keigo and Mizuiro were furthest away, with Tatsuki being in the centre. Luckily all three were at home. Ichigo considered sending Yoruichi or Nel to get Keigo, quickly deciding against it, nor would Keigo or Mizuiro trust Tomasu, he quickly decided on a plan and told the others where to go, "Okay, Yoruichi-San, you go get Mizuiro, I'll get Keigo, Tomasu and Nel, you guys go to Tatsuki's house and we'll all meet up there, got it?" Tomasu and Nel both looked at him confused, and Tomasu asked, "Where is Tatsuki's?" Ichigo slapped his forehead, why hadn't he thought of that? "Okay, sense the three strongest reiatsu in Karakura, besides ours, got them?" Tomasu nodded, "Tatsuki's is the second strongest, alright?" he nodded again, and just as Ichigo was about to shunpo away, he felt a senkaimon open in the distance, he furrowed his eyebrows, "no-one's coming out of it" Yoruichi shook her head, "yes they are, the stealth force are experts at suppressing their Reiatsu, we have to hurry." and with that, they separated.

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**A/N let me know what you thought, was ichigo and rukias scene OOC? i was worried it might be but im not sure, also let me know what you thought of tomasu, he's my first oc so be nice :)**


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